Mahatma

He grew up in a privileged household,

With enough to survive, and a little more for comfort,

And as his world expanded to the city of London,

He made the decision to lead a simple lifestyle.

 

Eating meat was a great taboo and telling a lie,

Caused him to have sleepless nights. But there came a time,

When he did both. And his regrets remained as reminders,

That made him to be honest man we look up to.

 

He had his own fears, like you and me. The darkness,

Was a mystery of horrors he never dared to step in.

Yet he conquered them and led a whole nation into light,

From the darkness of prison and slavery.

 

He went to study law abroad, disobeying the elders

Of his cast who then labelled him as an outcast.

But when he came back with a new found voice,

He sought to abolish the system of untouchability.

 

He moves to South Africa, to practice his study of law,

When travelling the country he is humiliated for being of colour,

He realised that it isn’t possible to achieve anything with arms struggle.

He vowed for non-violence, and the Satyagraha came to life.

 

He makes a triumphant return to India,

But he witnesses the overwhelming poverty in his country.

He protests against the Rowlatt act, but it turns violent quickly,

Leading to the massacre, convincing him to campaign for freedom.

 

Later came the march to the sea,

Followed by the Quit India movement

Both symbolic acts of defiance against British rule,

Protesting for the freedom of his country.

 

Unable to stop the strengthening calls for freedom,

Negotiation for the Independence of India began,

On August 15^th 1947, India was declared a free country.

And everyone was in high spirits.

 

But the year after we are faced with the sad news,

Of the demise of a great leader.

A gunshot brought his heart to halt, but he still remains

In our beating hearts as the Father of our Nation.

 

“Be the change that you want to see in the world”

Said Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, born just as everybody,

But his mistakes became his lessons and he changed himself,

To become the Mahatma we know him as today.